Towing company appeals 60‑day suspension after officer finds unpermitted truck at Mardi Gras lineup

A public hearing March 17 covered an appeal by B&B Record Service (doing business as B&B Towing) of a 60‑day suspension the Mobile Police Department placed on the company’s rotation list. Attorney Will Phillips and owner Brad Walker told the council they were unfairly suspended after an officer cited a 2017 Dodge Ram that Walker said was parked and being used only to dispatch another driver that day.

Will Phillips, who represented the company at the podium, said the truck was not used to tow during the Mardi Gras lineup and that the company’s working tow truck was the one taking calls that night. “I sat behind Officer Goodwin the whole time… I never moved the truck,” Walker said, arguing the vehicle on site was a personal vehicle used for dispatch and not the unit running tows.

Assistant City Attorney James Herod and Corporal Hodgej of the Mobile Police Department’s traffic safety unit described a different account. Police said their compliance review found the 2017 Dodge Ram lacked a displayed city permit and that the vehicle was not listed on the most recent certificate of insurance the company filed with the city. Corporal Hodgej said he inspected the vehicle, found no permit sticker in the windshield and relied on the city’s on‑file insurance certificates to determine coverage.

Corporal Hodgej said the city’s ordinance (cited generically as chapter 63 during testimony) limits each company to one rotation vehicle for the Mardi Gras temporary impound operations and requires current permits and insurance on file. He told the council this was a repeat compliance matter for B&B; the record shows prior suspensions in the last 12 months for related permit or insurance issues, including a prior suspension in October 2025 for insurance and another in April (year not fully specified in the record).

Brad and Holly Walker said the company had reinstated insurance and that the specific 2017 truck had been inspected for several prior years but had not been permitted for the current year because a tag had come off during repairs. Walker asked the council to reinstate the company to the rotation, describing the economic impact of lost calls during the suspension period and saying the business relies on city impounds for revenue.

Members of the public and other commentators urged the council to review the city’s enforcement process and gather all records; one participant urged the council to obtain email records the company said showed insurance had been emailed the morning of the incident. The city attorney advised the council that, after the public hearing, the body has 10 days to consider evidence and render a decision by resolution.

Outcome and next steps: The council closed the public hearing March 17 and took the appeal under advisement. Council staff said a resolution deciding the appeal will be prepared and the council expects to act on it within the 10‑day window described by legal counsel.